The invention concerns a method as well as an apparatus for the sorting out of plastic foils from a mixture of refuse, which previously has been divested of at least its heavy material components such as stone, glass and iron.
The invention originates from German Patent DE-OS 28 23 537. In this publication an arrangement is described for the separation of foil-like plastic materials from paper, with which through utilization of their combined operations, the rotation of a reel and an opposing feed movement of a conveyor loaded predominantly with paper and plastic materials are used for purposes of separation of the material conveyed by the conveyor into two types of material, and specifically into a more flexible type of material and a less flexible type of material, whereby the more flexible plastic materials are picked up by the arms of the reel.
This publication further describes and designates each arm of the reel as hook-like curved pegs.
The operation should obviously proceed such that the nearly spine- or hook-like arms of the reel impale and elevate the plastic foils with a uniform direction of movement across a conveyor loaded with mixture of refuse, while the stiffer, less movable paper remains lying on the conveyor. If possible, the flexible plastic-foils should be picked up and elevated solely through the hook-like arms of the reel, while the stiffer sheets of paper fall down between the arms of the reel and remain on the conveyor.
In the first assumed functional case, when the plastic foils are impaled, it is hardly avoidable that also papers are impaled by means of the pointed hooks or arms, and together with the plastic foils get carried away from the mixture on the conveyor by means of the reel.
In the second assumed case, when only the extreme flexibility of plastic foils or also textile scraps is supposed to be used, in order to fish them out of the mixture of refuse and raise them high, by means of the arms or hooks of the reel, it is likewise very strongly possible, so to speak "shake off" all of the paper, i.e. not to grasp it by means of the hooks or arms of the reel.
This known apparatus can itself, however, at best be adapted for the purpose of carrying away a mixture enriched with plastic foils and textile refuse from the previous mixture on the conveyor.